Cinders of Hope
by Allthingsninja
Summary: The world of Remnant is a FASCIST and OPRESSIVE place. At the top sit the headmasters of the hunter schools, keeping people under control with the raw strength of their hunters. However, in Vale, a rebellion is steadily growing. Can Cinder Fall and her companions break the chains and set the world free? Reversed AU, Very OOC
1. Chapter 1 - An Old Score

Fire danced along the smoldering ruins of what was once a grand mansion. Amidst the flames were two young girls. One was on her knees, stricken with fear and despair as she watched the other prance around on the ashes of what used to be her own parents. She was merrily twirling while a laughing a bone-chilling laughter. The one stricken with fear gathered her courage and spoke.

"Why?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to find some semblance of sense to the other girl's actions. The standing girl stopped her dance and shot the one on her knees a disdainful look. There were no emotions in her empty brown eyes. The look made tears silently fall from the other girl's brilliant amber eyes. A wicked smile shot across the lips of the standing girl.

"Why?" She repeated "Because I could"

* * *

Cinder's eyes flickered open. The view of flames had been replaced by dew-covered grass and, and the crackling of burning wood had been replaced with the morning chirps of the birds. She sat up and grasped her head. _Been a long time since I've thought about that memory_ , Cinder thought to herself as she looked up and let the sunlight filtering through the canopies revitalize her. The morning air around Vale was very cool and refreshing during the spring months.

When Cinder had shaken off the sleep, she stood up and started to pack her traveling bag back up. Her bedroll was rolled together and strapped to the top of her bag and her small campfire from the previous night was removed and cleaned up. When she had packed all her things, she headed on her way, snacking on some jerky. She didn't have anything to make breakfast from, so the jerky would have to do.

 _I need to make some money in the next town over_ , she thought before clasping her hands on both her cheeks, hard. _No, now is not the time to worry about food. Now is the time to focus_ , She reminded herself. She was on a mission, a seven year-long quest that was about to end today. She had tracked down the bitch who had destroyed her life, and she was about to get her revenge.

She walked for about an hour before reaching a clearing where the road was very clear defined. She knew that that bitch would pass by here today. When, she wasn't certain, but that didn't matter. She had waited a seven years; she could wait few more hours. Cinder sat down behind a nearby bush and watched the road intently. Nothing happened for about an hour, but that was when something stirred on the other side of the road. Odd, Cinders informant had said that she would be moving from south to north. She was about to prepare herself when she saw two people walk out into the clearing. She didn't recognized the.

One was male, tall and had a very lean build. He had a head of silver-ish gray hair that was tied back at the back while he had and uneven fringe. The most noteworthy feature about him was the lower part of both his legs. They were bionic, meaning that he had probably lost the lower parts his legs at some point and had them replaced. What looked like weapons were fitted onto his legs, but she couldn't tell for sure.

The other was woman with a light-brown skin that contrasted very beautifully with her mint-green hair. She had a pair of long straight cut bang on either side of her face while the rest of her hair and fringe was tied back into a long, slender ponytail. She had a pair of holster in the in a belt around her waist, but Cinder couldn't make out anything specific in them. She calmed herself down again and waited for them to pass. But when they reached the middle of the road, they sat down on the dirt and looked like they were waiting. Cinder found herself confused by this. Perhaps they had the same idea as her, but decided to face the opponent head on. She wasn't surprised that other people had it out for her target. That bitch had become somewhat of a big shot in the last seven years, all thanks to her powers. Her position meant that a lot of resistance members were after her head. Cinder still wanted to have her revenge, but perhaps those two could be beneficial to her. She had expected a tough fight on her own, but maybe she could join forces with those two in the heat of battle. She would keep her position though. She didn't want to jeopardize her element of surprise.

Another hour passed and Cinder sat with her trusty bow, an arrow knocked and ready to be pulled back at a moment's notice. Cinder didn't consider herself the best shot, but she was decent enough to hunt in these parts.

That was when it happened. The sound of an approaching horse carriage caught her attention. She turned her head in the direction of the sound just in time to see the carriage break into the clearing. For something that was supposed to be discreet, it was incredibly lavish-looking. A white horse-carriage pulled by two pure white horses. Cinder couldn't help but sigh. She had heard that her target liked to keep her fairy tale princess image at all times. _Nothing could be further from the truth_ , Cinder thought as she readied herself.

The horse carriage came to a stop in front of the two unknown people in the middle of the road. They quickly stood up and started dusting themselves off.

"Dornaise, what are we stopping for?!" A shrill voice pierced through the quite forest as the door to the carriage slammed open. Out came the target that Cinder had been pursuing for a large part of her life. Amber, the current fall maiden. Cinder couldn't help but grin a little. Amber hadn't changed a day since she was a child. _She is still a spoiled brat_ , Cinder thought.

Amber's eyes narrowed as she saw the two people facing her. "Dornaise, please step away for a moment. I'm afraid that some rebel scum want to test their mettle" She said as a wicked smile crept onto her lips. Cinder, watching from afar, had flashback to that memory again. It was the same smile-just as cold and emotionless as that time. The driver of the carriage had hurried away and as out of sight within seconds.

"Congratulations. This was supposed to be a secret, but you found me. You've got me cornered, and I'm all alone. Oh what is a girl to do" Amber said in a mocking tone of voice. She was clearly underestimating her opponent gravely.

"Wasn't that hard" The man said, "Just as a heads up, a stark white carriage doesn't exactly work as camouflage in a green forest" the woman added.

"I don't recall asking for stealth tactics from a poor street urchin" Amber said, vitriol dripping off her tongue. The woman's brow furrow. Amber's words had apparently upset her.

"Yes, I know who you two are. Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. You rebellion scum prided yourself on your secrecy, but you have no idea how much we know" Amber said. Her eye started glowing with a burning orange and in a display of power, she called upon the wind to lift the carriage, horses and all. She moved it as far away as she could, and then turned back to her opponents.

"How honorable, waiting for me to be ready before attacking. However…" Amber said as eyes started to glow again and all of the fallen leaves in the vicinity started to float off the ground. "…that was your first mistake!" She yelled as all of the leaves caught fire and were hurled towards them. With the reflexes of trained combatants, Mercury and Emerald sprang into action. Mercury was the quickest to charge forward, propelled by a gunshot from the heel of his foot. Cinder, watching them fighting, now recognized the weapons on his legs as shotguns built into his bionic legs. The force of the buckshot shot him right into the face of Amber as he buried his left foot, spun around and aimed his shin for her face. For some reason, Amber was too slow to react, and his kick connected perfectly

"What the hell?!" Amber managed to scream before receiving a knee to the stomach. Mercury, utilizing that fact that his enemy was off-balance, delivered a smooth flurry of kicks that alternated between feet and different targets on her body. When Amber got a second to breathe, she immediately sent out a pulse of flame, forcing Mercury to retreat. Amber herself then shot forward, intending to catch him on the back foot, but was forced to stop when a pair of chains shot past both of her sides. Before she could figure out what was happening, Emerald started pelting her with shot after shot from her two revolvers. Amber was forced to retreat backwards.

When enough distance was between them, Amber decided to retaliate, until the two blades of Emerald's kusarigama were pulled back and dug into her shoulders. She lurched forward as the two blades dug deep and practically scraped Ambers aura right off. Cinder was impressed with Emerald's ability to completely deplete her target of aura with two well-placed cuts like those. Just as Amber was about recover, Mercury delivered a flying kick to her stomach that sent her flying back. The two rebels had no intention of letting Amber recover for even a second.

They were about to follow her when a powerful wave surged from Amber, sending both of the rebels flying back. "Enough!" She shouted as she started levitating. Cinder saw this as her cue and started moving. Amber's eyes now looked like they were fully on fire as she floated on top of a swirling stream of pure fire.

"I've had it with you rebels! Why don't you obey like the rest of the cattle?! I am a Maiden, a being of immense power! To you worthless humans, I am a god! You should be groveling in the dirt! Now, kneel before m…" Ambers rant was cut short as an arrow imbedded itself into her spine. She was knocked unconscious and dropped down, landing on the ground with a hollow thud.

"Restrain her!" Cinder yelled as she ran up to the two rebels. They both looked a tad confused, but did as the stranger told them to. They probably shouldn't piss off the person who had just saved their bacon. Mercury and Emerald grabbed an arm each. "Alright, now hold her up" Cinder said. They raised her up so she was sitting on her knees and facing Cinder. When she reached them, she reached back and pulled the arrow from Ambers back. With a swift slap to the face, Amber was awakened with a start. She looked around frantically, but when her eyes me Cinder's, she completely stopped moving.

"Cindy?" Amber asked, looking rather confused. She then noticed the two rebels holding her arms tightly. "Let me go!" She said as she tried to wrestle herself free from their grip. "Let go of me right now, or I burn you all to a crisp!" Amber threatened, and tried to activate her powers. All her anger dissipated when she realized that she couldn't access her aura.

"I've hit a nerve in your spinal column that temporarily separates you from your aura" Cinder explained as she pulled something from her pocket, a white glove with strange markings in the palm. Mercury and Emerald shared a concerned look, but didn't say anything.

Amber, however, saw the glove and sneered. "Salem! That witch!" She hissed as she tried even harder to wriggle free, but to no avail. Cinder put the glove on and started to move it close to Ambers face. Seeing no other option, Amber had to rely on an absolute last resort ditch effort. She started begging.

"Cindy, please" She pleaded, laughing nervously. "You don't want to do this. I'm your old friend. You old play mate!" Amber said, trying to appeal to Cinder through their memories together. Cinder had flashbacks. The bullying, the abuse, emotional and physical. Scouring her memory, Cinder couldn't find a single good memory with Amber in it. She was about to make one.

"Sorry Amber, but it seemed more like you treated me like a toy than as an equal." Cinder said. The markings on the glove glowed a vibrant yellow, and from the glove sprung a small portal, from which a beetle crawled. Amber, losing all sense of upholding dignity, started crying.

"How could mother like you, a stupid housemaid, more than me, her own daughter?!" Amber wailed, acting like a child again "It's not fair!" She complained. As she started crying for real, the beetle shot a web of golden threads onto Ambers face. They latched on and started to siphon her aura into the wearer of the glove. As Amber's aura was slowly taken, she couldn't help but look at Cinder with disdain once again.

"I hate you…"Amber choked out through tears before she went unconscious again

Cinder sat stoic, having let go of her emotions towards Amber long ago. With this, she would be contempt. She was about halfway done with the aura transfer when she felt a sense of dread. Out of nowhere, she felt a strong and dangerous aura moving towards them.

"Scatter!" Cinder yelled. Her and the two rebels instantly distanced themselves from Amber, just as jet-black scythe imbedded itself in the ground where Cinder had been. Just as quickly as the Scythe had come, a man appeared. He was all covered in black, from a long trench coat with a large hood, to the leather gloves. They couldn't make out any of the features of his face. He lifted Amber over his shoulders before eyeing Cinder. Although she couldn't see his eyes, she could feel his cold and calculated gaze. And then, just as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone.

Cinder let out a relieved sigh. His presence had put her severely on edge. She calmed herself down before going out to regroup with the two rebels.

"Thanks, you really saved us back there" Mercury said as he took Cinder's hand and shook it. Cinder only let her arm wiggle with his. "Yeah that was a really great shot, thank you for the help" Emerald added. Cinder had trouble responding to these people. While they acted like professionals in combat, the second that they weren't in immediate danger, they became so carefree.

"My apologies, but I didn't intend on saving you" Cinder said, speaking very frankly. "Your presence offered me a great opening, so I took it. I should thank you for keeping her attention" She said, speaking very openly. One of the things that Master Salem had taught her was that allies were to be cherished in this world, and that the best way to make allies was to be honest. She lived by the creed of Master Salem.

The two rebels looked at her before both laughing. "Well, I guess we both did our part. Good work" Emerald said. For some reason, this compromise made Cinder smile. It was rare to meet people so confident in themselves. It was a nice change of pace.

"Y'know…" Mercury started looking Cinder over, walking around her. "…you're pretty skilled, and your moral compass seems to be in order, unlike most people on this planet…" He said, giving his assessment of her. So far, he hadn't said anything too out of line. "…Why don't you join the rebellion? We could always use more people" and that's when Cinder started shying away. She had hear about the rebellion, and although she was sympathetic to their cause, she could never see herself actually joining them, not while she was still in training under Master Salem

"I don't know…" she said, a little sheepishly. "…I still haven't completed my training…" Cinder said. She was about to decline their offer when she felt a rumble in her pocket. She knew exactly who was calling her, seeing as the phone was only used for one purpose. She pulled it from her pocket and took a deep breath before answering.

"Master Salem, I…"

"Accept their offer, sweetheart" Salem immediately said on the other end, cutting right to the chase.

"I know, I'm on my way home now, I just…wait, what?" Cinder said.

"You heard me. I'm telling you to accept their offer. My end goal was always for you to join the rebellion. I think you're about ready."

There was a long silent pause before anyone said anything again.

"Cinder, sweetie, you there?" Salem said.

"…How did you know?" Cinder asked.

An angelic laugh could be heard on the other end of line. Cinder could feel her blood-sugar levels rising.

"Oh sweetie, you should know by now. I know everything."

"But…"

"Everything" Salem said, definitively halting the conversation. "Now, go with the nice rebels" Sale said before the line was cut. Cinder could do nothing but stare at the phone on her hand, wishing she could throw it against a tree. She was rarely angry, but Master Salem's antics could get her glowing hot red within seconds.

She looked up at the two young rebels, smiling at her and patiently waiting for an answer. While this hadn't been her plane whatsoever, Cinder had no choice but to follow her master's orders. It was this time her stomach decided to growl rather loudly.

"Do you guys have anything to eat? I didn't get breakfast" Cinder asked with a deadpan expression. Both Emerald and Mercury couldn't help but break down laughing; making Cinder confused as to if she had said something funny.

* * *

In Vale, at the top of Beacon tower, in the dark office where the headmaster resided, the sound of a phone could be heard. The headmaster, Ozpin picked up the phone and held it up to the ear of the young girl sitting on his lap. While she received the call, he gently stroked the top of her head. Once she nodded, Ozpin hung up and put the phone down to return his hand to the young girls lap. The girl on his lap started talking in an emotionless tone of voice.

"The fall maiden, Amber Briar, has been ambushed by a group consisting of the two rebels, Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai, and a third as of yet unknown person. It is as of yet not clear what has been done to Briar, but she is in an indefinite state of coma. The Hospital will contact us if her status changes"

In front of Ozpin's desk sat two chairs. On the chair to the left sat a young girl, slender in appearance with perfect alabaster skin, marred only by the two parallel scars running from her left temple down to her cheek. Her hair, combed and brushed perfectly, was sat up in a perfectly straight ponytail. The clothes on her told of wealth, a young woman from a family with more money than they knew what to do with. This was also evident by the two butlers tending to her while she was meeting with the headmaster.

The chair to right was occupied by a woman with a strong and firm build. Her long golden hair cascaded down her back like a river of gold. The clothes she wore were very revealing, as she only wore a brown leather jacket and underneath a shiny golden bikini top. Her black spandex shorts were very short, but the chunky belt around her waist lent her some decency. Lastly, on her feet were worn combat boots.

On her left, sitting directly in between the chairs was another young woman. The only defining feature about her was the cat ears on the top of her head. She was left completely naked, save for a collar around her neck and a muzzle over her mouth. Her black hair was completely disheveled. Her eyes were glazed over, and it was clear that she wasn't listening unless spoken directly to.

"Good. That egotistical bitch needed to be taught a lesson" Weiss said as her butler handed her a cup of tea. She sipped it.

"Hah for once, you and I actually agree, princess. She was pretty, but obviously not as pretty as me" Yang said, puffing out her chest. This made Weiss scoff at her.

"Oh please, I can smell the stench of more men than you can count to, on you. There's nothing pretty about being a cheap whore" Weiss said, sipping her tea. The woman on between them started hissing at Weiss and she recoiled, throwing her tea across the room.

"Yang, call off your pet this instant!" Weiss demanded. Her butler were about to deal with the situation when the sound of cocking shotgun got their attention. Yang had her aim train on both of them.

"I will if you call off yours!" Yang shouted. It was not uncommon on Beacon that Weiss and Yang were at each other's throats. It had become a daily event. Their stalemate was broken when a cup was set down onto the headmaster's desk. They both looked up to see the girl sitting in Ozpin's lap, their team leader Ruby, had set her coffee cup down rather hard. They took this as a sign to call it off.

While they had no problem with beating each other senseless, none of them wanted to go against Ruby. Blood would be spilled.

"Enough bickering, both of you" She said, her previous emotionless voice replaced with an annoyed tone. She stared them both down and they shrunk into their seats.

"This is a serious offence by the rebellion. We've let them play around for far too long. Send them a message. Hurt them, so that they stop trying to be heroes." Ruby demanded. Both Weiss and Yangs stood up and bowed to Ruby. They promptly exited, Yang pulling along Blake on a leash while Weiss' butlers stumbled to keep up.

Once they had left, the office lapsed into silence, save for the ticking of the clock right above them. Ruby's stern look was replaced by a childish, almost innocent, smile as she looked over her shoulder into the red irises and the black sclera of headmaster Ozpin. His sickly pale hands ghosted over her face while she bent back and locked her arms behind his neck. She leant up and whispered into his ear.

"Did I do good daddy?"


	2. Chapter 2 - Missions and Goals

" _My name is Emerald Sustrai. It's a pleasure to meet you"_

" _Mercury Black. Pleasure"_

 _Cinder shook both of their hands as they introduced themselves. She didn't have the nerve to tell them that she had been listening in on their entire conversation with Amber. Maybe they would resent her for not stepping in sooner._

" _What's your name?" Emerald asked_

* * *

Cinder opened her eyes looked around her. She was sitting on a comfortable layer of hay, having hitched a ride in the back of a bypassing cart. In front of her sat Mercury and Emerald, playing a card game. Cinder felt like she could relax. The last few days leading up to her ambush against Amber had been hard on her. She didn't feel like she had had a moment to relax and gather her thoughts. The night before the ambush, she was wide awake, too nervous to go to sleep, but she ended up simply passing out late into the night. Right now it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She could almost smile, if she had a reason to.

"Hey Cinder" Emerald called out as she was packing away the deck of cards. "It seemed like you and Amber had quite a bit of history" Cinder suddenly felt worried. She didn't feel like divulging her life's story to these two. She didn't trust them enough yet.

"That must have been a lot of emotional baggage. Are you alright?" Mercury asked. While he did sound fairly aloof, there was a tinge of worry in his voice. Cinder appreciated that, enough to make her smile a little.

"Yes, I'm fine now. I stopped antagonizing her years ago. More than anything I'm just relieved that it is over" She said. She received a heartwarming smile from Emerald, and a supportive smirk from Mercury. Although by a small margin, Cinder felt closer to her companions now. They were compassionate and kind. She was looking forward to journeying with them.

"What kind of powers did you siphon from her?" Mercury asked, more curious now than ever. He leant forward in an interested manner.

After having started their journey towards Vale, Cinder had explained that the glove she had used had stolen Amber's power and siphoned it into her. She also explained that the process had only been half-way finished when they had been interrupted. In truth, she didn't know what kinda of effect this could have on her aura. She had tried to call Master Salem to ask about it, but she wasn't answering the phone. Cinder grimaced at the memory. It was very typical of Master Salem to never accept her calls and only call her up when she needed her to do something.

"I'm not quite sure" Cinder said as she tried to make contact with her aura. There was a definite changed in it. Her aura was usually very mellow, having a yellow, slightly orange tinge, and not being very impressive in size. After the procedure, her aura felt completely different. It was churning and violent, a wildfire that burned within her and had a bright glowing red color. The aura itself felt very much like Amber in a way, but now it was Cinders aura.

She tried to concentrate and conjure up the image of the aura. Amber's favorite weapons. In seconds, sparks ignited a flame within the palm of Cinder hand. It was not very large, but it was definitely the fire that Amber had been using. It had the same intensity.

"Wow" Emerald whispered as she crawled closer and stared at the flame. Mercury kept his distance, but admired the display of power from afar. They observed the flame dance in her palm. However, over time the flame started to grow bigger. Emeralds previous admiration had been replaced with slight worry as she started to back off slowly.

"Uhm, Cinder, I think that's big enough. You can turn it off now" Emerald said with a shaky voice.

"Right" Cinder confirmed as she looked at the flame that was now engulfing her entire hand. She looked back at Emerald with a deadpan expression. "How do I do that?"

"How am I supposed to know?!" Emeralds yelled in frustration.

"It's your aura, do something about it!" Mercury said

Another beat passed as Cinder stared at the flame trying to think of something. She then started to flail her hand around, trying to put the flame out. The only thing she managed to do was to set fire to the hay in the back of the cart. This only sent Emerald and Mercury into a more alarmed state.

"Mercury, water, quick!" Emerald yelled. She had found a blanket in her backpack and started to pat the fire down.

"I don't have anymore!" Mercury yelled as he scoured his backpack for anything that could help.

"Huh, the fire in my hand isn't warm at all, but the fire started by my fire is very warming. How curious" Cinder mumbled as she was holding her flameless hand closer to the fire in the back of the cart.

"Now is not the time Cinder!" Mercury yelled as he had found his own blanket and helped Emerald at the fire down.

"What are you kids doing back there?!" the cart driver yelled back to them and turned back to see the wildfire that had started in his cart. He quickly halted the cart as he ran back to assist them in putting out the fire. While the three people were slowly beating the fire into submission, Cinder was still observing the flame that had now engulfed her entire lower arm.

"I wonder if this can be utilized in cooking…"

* * *

At Beacon, Weiss and Yang had just finished suiting up and were ready to go out and knock the dirty rebels down a peg.

"Honestly, I'm quite enough on my own. Why do I always have to babysit you" Weiss mumbled as they walked through the halls. The hunters around them parted and averted their gaze as to not look at them. This was nothing new for the two girls. Weaker huntsmen and huntresses knew their place.

"Yeah well I'm not jazzed about having to protect your million Lien ass either, princess" Yang said.

They reached the main hall that lead out into the courtyard and saw a man in a white suit of armor standing guard by the door into the dining hall. His white suit of armor was a mix between old-school knight armor and new-age high tech nano-fiber weave. By his side was a blue-handled broadsword. He met their gaze with his cold ocean-blue eyes as they approached.

"The headmaster informed me of your mission. If you're leaving the grounds, I will have to ask you to pay your respects first" he said in a very business-like manner. Weiss scoffed at him.

"We were about to, but a blonde oaf is blocking our path. Let us in Arc" Weiss started in her sassy tone of voice, staring defiantly into his eyes. Their staring contest was broken when Yang smacked Weiss upside the head. Weiss glared back at her while rubbing the back of her head.

"Do you WANT to get bent out of shape? Keep your mouth shut, willya?" Yang shouted. Afterwards, she straightened her back and bowed towards Jaune.

"Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee of team RWBY request permission to pay our respects before embarking on our mission" Weiss eventually bowed too. Jaune couldn't help but smile a little.

"Better" He said. "Now follow me" Jaune said as he turned around and pushed the big double doors open. The dining hall was large, with four long tables on each side of a wide walkway. The walkway lead up to a heightened platform, where a throne-like chair stood. The chair, carved from solid marble and decorated with red and golden ornaments, was occupied by a woman in a long black gown. Standing in the doorway, Jaune himself took a knee and held his hand upon his heart. In a clear voice he spoke

"Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee of team RWBY humbly request permission to pay their respects before they are to embark on their mission. Will you accept their audience, milady?"

A long pause permeated the hall.

"Let them enter" The woman upon the throne said. Jaune stood up and led the two young women inside the hall. They stopped just before the stairs leading up to the throne and both took a knee. Jaune continued and stood by the side of the throne. The women snaked her hand up and caressed Jaune's cheek lovingly. They eyes met, deep ocean-blue upon emerald green. Jaune was, once again, stricken with her beauty. The tight fitted dress that flowed down over her feet and down a few of the stair steps showed her divine body and its curves. Her long crimson red hair, like a torrent of autumn leaves cascading down a waterfall.

"Oh how lonely it must be, guarding me day in and day out. I feel sorry for you, my dear knight" Pyrrha spoke. Jaune upheld his stoic appearance, but couldn't help but develop a healthy blush.

"If it is in service of milady, then it is a worthy task" Jaune said, trying to obscure the fact that his eyes wandered all over her. She smiled at him wickedly.

"Yes, of course" Pyrrha said and turned her attention to the two young women who were both still kneeling.

"You two are embarking on a mission. Please, Miss Xiao Long, relay to me the details of this mission."

Yang stood up relayed what information she had about the assault on Amber, and that they had been ordered to dismantle the rebellion headquarters, since the headmaster deemed their actions unforgiveable this time. Pyrrha listened intently until Yang stopped speaking and kneeled again.

"I see" Pyrrha mumbled. While not obvious to people just watching from the outside, Jaune knew the look in Pyrrha's eyes. She was analyzing, turning every opportunity and weighing all the variables of the mission. When she could no longer think of any scenarios, she sat back in her throne and sighed.

"This mission has my blessing" she simply said as she reached her right hand out. On her ring finger, over the long black gloves she wore, was a ring carved from pure obsidian and adorned with a deep red ruby. Yang and Weiss took turns at ascending to the throne, kneeling, and placing a light kiss on the jewel. Once they were done with ceremony, Pyrrha wafted her hand and Jaune led the two women out, closing the doors behind him. Yang and Weiss were about to leave when they were stopped by Jaune.

"Schnee, I hope I do not need to remind you of the first tenant of our school" He said glaring at her. Weiss glared back at him, but none of them wavered until Weiss sighed.

"Strength is everything. Those who are strong rule over those who are weak" Weiss recited in a bored voice. She didn't care about formalities now, she just wanted to get out and get this mission over with.

"You'll do well to watch your tone in the future, otherwise I think Miss Goodwitch is going to have something to say about your behavior" Jaune said as he turned around and went back to standing guard at the door. Now free of obstruction, Weiss and Yang swiftly exited into the courtyard.

"Sniveling coward!" Weiss hissed as they walked towards the bullhead that was to take them into the city. "Hiding behind Miss Goodwitch is something only a weakling would do" Weiss said as she pulled a small pocket mirror from a pouch and checked her make-up. Anger could have an adverse effect on it. That's what she believed anyways.

"Oh, as if you could beat him. Not even I can punch through that stupid shield of his" Yang admitted defiantly. She never wanted to say it, but Jaune's shield and that over-shield semblance of his was strong and annoying. He was known for hardly ever sustaining any damage. "He could probably overtake Pyrrha in the rankings if he wanted to" Yang said.

"Then why doesn't he do it?" Weiss asked.

"Pfft, did you hear them back there?" Yang couldn't help but laugh. "He's as whipped as a Faunus" Yang joked, bursting out into a hearty laugh. Weiss didn't want to, but she couldn't help but snicker a little.

"She has him wrapped around her finger. He won't lay a hand on her, not now, not ever" Yang concluded as they entered the bullhead and strapped in. In the corner was a caged off area where Blake was chained to the wall. Weiss looked at the set-up curiously.

"You know how antsy Blakey can get while flying. They've forced me to cage her in while we fly somewhere" Yang said, seeming a little sullen. Weiss only scoffed.

"I'm surprised you don't keep it caged regularly"

* * *

It had started raining. After the fire in the cart had been put out and it had started rolling again, the skies above poured rain down on them, mocking them in a way.

"How about we keep the fire to a minimum for now" Emerald said, as she tried to dust off her blanket and fold it back into her backpack. Cinder has managed to put out her arm through sheer force of will. The straining she had to do was enough to make her head thump slightly. Mercury had handed her some aspirin.

"I'm terribly sorry. Perhaps I'll try utilizing the power in some other way, rather than directly" Cinder said as she buttoned up a raincoat that she had pulled from her own backpack. She pulled up the hood and hugged her legs tightly, so she could pull the long coat over her knees, to cover her whole body. Emerald and Mercury just watched this very childlike behavior from Cinder, who they had deemed to be very eloquent and mature, and laughingly shook their heads.

The wagon stopped suddenly and they all looked up to see what was going on. In front of them was a long line of different vehicles, from horse driven carts like their ride, to bigger trucks and vans. They were all neatly lined up along the dirt road.

Cinder looked up and, for the first time, laid her eyes on the protective wall surrounding the city of Vale. It presence loomed over the tree canopies, and it felt as if the dark rain clouds flowed from beyond that wall.

"This is probably our stop" Emerald said and hoisted her bag up. Mercury and Cinder did the same, although Cinder did begrudgingly have to bare her knees again. She wasn't overly fond of rain, thus the long raincoat.

"What entrance are we going with Em?" Mercury asked as he stepped off the cart and handed the driver a handful of Lien. The cart driver wanted to ask questions, but they hadn't paid him enough to care about them. "Entrance A or Entrance B?" Mercury elaborated.

"None of the above" Emerald said cheerfully, making Mercury raise an eyebrow. "We're taking the third option" She said, holding up three fingers. In the background, Cinder was shaking the hand of the cart driver, who looked very confused. Cinder didn't have the nerve to apologize for the fire to him directly, but she could at least do this much.

"Entrance C? Are they done with that one?" Mercury asked a bit surprised. He had assumed that that was still weeks from being done. The expansion team must've hustled on this one.

"They certainly are. Someone will be there to pick us up in a few minutes. In the meantime, we have to find the damn thing" Emerald said and pulled out a piece of paper. On the paper was a hand drawn map. It wasn't very detailed and looked like it had been done with crayons.

"That looks like it was made by a five-year old. Did Neo make it?" Mercury joked, which earned him an elbow in the stomach from Emerald.

"Be nice!" Emerald said with furrowed brow. "You know how sensitive she is about her height"

"C'mon, you have to admit, she looks twelve"

"But she isn't twelve. Now are you done, so we can go find this hatch?" Emerald said, staring him down. Mercury knew that he couldn't survive an argument with Emerald, even in situations where he was totally right.

"Lead on" He said

Emerald gave him a fake smile before she turned back to the forest and started walking off the beaten path. The underbrush was very light, but still crunched under the sound of their boots. They walked for about twenty minutes in the direction of the big wall, before Emerald stopped suddenly in front of a tree with an unusually thick trunk.

"I think this is it" She mumbled as she started feeling around the tree. Her eye perked up when her fingers hitched on something, and with a fierce pull, a hidden door opened up. The inside of the trunk was completely hollow, and in the middle of the hollow trunk, on the ground, was a sealed metal hatch.

"Well wouldya look at that" Mercury said as he leaned closer and inspected the hatch. It was heavy duty, not something easily broke through, and locked from the inside.

"All we have to do now is wait" Emerald said as he sat down against the tree trunk. So they waited. Mercury asked a few times about when someone was supposed to come, but Emerald just said that it hadn't been specified. A bit ways away from them stood Cinder, watching the movement of the queue as it moved slightly, and the stopped several times.

"What are these people lining up for" She asked

"Security check" Emerald said as she moved up and stood beside Cinder. "The huntsmen and huntresses control the flow goods to and from the city" Emerald said as he patted Cinder on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow. They walked a bit before Emerald crouched down, Cinder instinctively doing the same. Emerald moved aside a dense bush so that Cinder could get a clear look at the gates.

Three large gates lead into the city and the singular line had been spilt into three, a few people directing the traffic. Walking alongside the line of vehicles were men and women in dense black combat armor carrying heavy duty firearms. They patrolled around, most likely to intimidate and stop any chaos from breaking out.

"Are those hunters?" Cinder asked. Truthfully, she had never actually run across a hunter in her entire life. She only knew what she had heard from various stories about their cruelty, and about how Beacon ruled Vale with an iron fist.

"No, those are just soldiers under their command" Emerald said. "That over there however…" She said and pointed to a person overseeing the gate closest to them. "…that's a genuine huntress" Emerald said.

The huntress standing by the gate was leaning on a large weapon that Cinder couldn't distinguish, It was very blocky and about twice her size. She was dressed very fashionably, very unalike the soldiers. Her outfit looked very stylish with its chocolate-brown turtleneck and its beret. She was wearing sunglass that obscured her eyes, but Cinder had no doubt that she was watching the traffic like a hawk. Cinder noticed something beside her. There was a leash bound to her wrist that went down to the collar of a young-looking Faunus that sat in the mud, completely naked. She had a pair of dark brown bunny ears that drooped down over her face.

"Is that a…" Cinder started before being interrupted by Emerald.

"Yes that's a Faunus. Hunters have habit of keeping them trapped. Some use them as guard dogs while others simply wish for a pet" Emerald spoke as her finger dug into the ground. But she was not the only one who was angry. She looked back and saw that Cinders right eye had started flaring a bit. She looked at the rage of her new friend, and felt her own rage subside, forming a relieved smile. It was nice to know that their new recruit felt the same as she did.

"Cinder, you're flaring up" Emerald said with a little chuckle. Cinder snapped out of her stupor and started taking deep breaths to calm herself down. The rage in her eyes was replaced with a bitter sadness. Emerald reached up and took a strong hold of her shoulder.

"When this is all over, Faunus won't have to suffer anymore. I promise you" Emerald said with a warm smile. Cinder returned her smile. Their moment was broken when Mercury sneaked up behind them.

"They're here now, c'mon" He said. They all walked back towards the entrance.

Waiting at the open door of the tree was a new person, one that Cinder didn't recognize. She had short black hair with a straight cut fringe. She wore a white dress shirt and a pencil skirt, with dark a pantyhose and black leather shoes. She was dressed more for a business meeting than for a walk in the woods.

"Sorry about the wait, Adam had us mark out Beacon's recent activity on the city map and it took forever" The girl complained.

"That's just because you're slow" A voice sounded from within the tree.

"Am not!" The girl argued

"Am too!" Touché, disembodied voice.

"Miltia, it's fine" Emerald said as she and Mercury walked inside the tree and jumped down the hatch. Cinder was about to follow when the girl grabbed onto her shoulder.

"Hold it there, rookie. You didn't think you could just pass me by, couldya?" The girl said as she stuck out her hand in greeting. "Miltiades Malachite, full-time rebel, part time bouncer. Just call me Miltia. It's a pleasure to make you acquaintance" She said and shook Cinders hand rather solidly.

"Cinder Fall. The pleasure is mine" Cinder said. That's what Master Salem had instructed her to say if the opposing party greeted her first. Somehow, it sounded more suave when Master Salem said it.

"My, aren't you a charmer" Miltia said and chuckled.

"You're too easily charmed" The berating voice from before sounded from down in the hatch again.

"Shut it Melanie!" Miltia shouted as she turned back to Cinder. "Sorry about that, that's just my dumb twin-sister Melanie. You don't have to shake her hand"

"I don't wanna shake her hand" Melanie said.

"Shut it Melanie!" Miltia shouted again. She took a deep breath before smiling widely at Cinder again. "Well then, shall we?" She gesture to the hatch and Cinder walked over and dropped into it. The hatch led down into a shaft that had been dug out recently from the looks of it. A line of lanterns led them down the shaft. Cinder locked eyes with Melanie for a second before Melanie averted her eyes. She looked exactly like her sister except for the hair which was long, draped over her left shoulder, and tied at tied at the bottom by cyan a scrunchie. She also wore a pair of suit pants, instead of a skirt, and a pair of white knee height high heeled boots with what looked like blades strapped onto the heel. Cinder presumed these to be her weapons.

"Alright, onwards team" Miltia said excitedly as she led them through the passageway. They walked for about half an hour, where Melanie and Miltia passed the time with updating Emerald and Mercury on what had happened during their mission. That was when they were interrupted by noise from a Walkie Talkie that Melanie pulled from her pocket.

"Melanie *static* come in *static*Melanie!" The voice on the other end shouted. Melanie hurried to answer the call.

"I'm here Roman, what's going on?" She asked. The Walkie was silent for a moment before the man's voice came through more clearly.

"Thank god. You and Miltia need to hurry back, we're under attack by two huntresses" Roman said with a distressed voice.

"Sit tight, we're on our way. Any confirmation on their identities?" Another beat passed

"They're from team RWBY" nothing more need to be said. The entire group, sans Cinder shot each other concerned looks

"We need to move, now!" Mercury shouted and shot into a sprint, the others right on his tail. Cinder had o run as fast as she could to keep up with them all.


End file.
